Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno

Five Cheese Ziti al Forno Ingredients

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this copycat five cheese ziti al forno recipe:

• Pasta: This recipe starts with a pound of dry ziti pasta.
• Cheeses: It should come as no surprise that you’ll need plenty of cheeses for this dish: A package of shredded Italian blend cheeses, a cup of ricotta, and grated Parmesan.
• Jarred sauce: Using jarred sauce cuts down on time — but, of course, you can make your own marinara and Alfredo sauces!
• Bread crumbs: Use store-bought or homemade seasoned bread crumbs.
• Butter: You’ll need two tablespoons of melted butter for the rich topping.
• Garlic: Flavor the buttery bread crumb topping with fresh garlic.

How to Make Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

You’ll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here’s a brief overview of what you can expect when you make Olive Garden five cheese ziti al forno:

1. Cook and drain the pasta.
2. Toss the pasta with the sauces, half of the Italian blend cheeses, and ricotta.
3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish and top with remaining cheese.
4. Make the topping and sprinkle it over the pasta.
5. Bake the five cheese ziti al forno until bubbly and golden.

Test Kitchen Tips

• Using Italian blend cheeses is a time and money saver. You get 4 or 5 cheeses in one package and it’s already shredded and ready to use.
• You may substitute 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup shredded romano cheese, and 1/2 cup shredded provolone or Asiago cheese for the shredded Italian blend cheeses.
• You may substitute plain panko crumbs and add 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.